Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones Redone: Failed Bonding
by SquidbaggerOfWoomyAndNgyesness
Summary: FE/Mega Man/X-Overs Crossover. Set after Chapter 5 of my Sacred Stones mod. After Ike and Fjorm get engaged, Ike tries to bond with his future step-daughter during a dinner break.


It had been another day of usual fighting and traveling for Zero and co. Currently, it was sunset and dinner was being served after they had set up camp. Lemy was the one placed on dinner shift, and although the rocker boy was still a child and claimed he didn't really know how to quite cook, everyone thought he was pretty good at it.

Ike was standing by an empty table, waiting for his fiancée and her daughter to show up. After a short amount of time had passed, Fjorm and Fríge both walked over. Fjorm smiled and gave her betrothed a hug and kiss, though both adults noticed Fríge looked uncomfortable. Ike noticed that his future step-daughter started to look uncomfortable the moment that she and her mother came up to him and he mentally rehearsed what he was going to say to her in his mind. He knew that she had some trust issues and had a lot of hurt, but he wanted her to feel safe and loved around him. Even though she wasn't his daughter by blood, he wanted her to feel like she could count on him and that he wanted to spoil her as his child. Ike let Fjorm and Fríge sit down first, before seating himself. Fjorm sat next to her fiancé, while Fríge sat down across from them. Both adults could sense the younger girl's agitation and the family just sat there for a few moments in awkward silence. Ike studied Fríge silently, while the girl just stared at him with simply a blank face. He wondered what his future step-daughter was thinking. Fjorm noticed the tension between the two and coughed weakly.

"I went ahead and ordered. You still like the pork ramen, right, hun?" Fjorm asked.

Fríge had told her mother before that one of her favorite foods was pork ramen. Fjorm didn't know what that was, until Fríge had explained it was something she had discovered back during her time on the Neokosmos space station. So, to make her daughter happy, Fjorm had asked that it be made available as a food option for her whenever they ate. Fríge continued staring at Ike with her arms crossed.

What's this about?" Fríge asked, avoiding eye contact with her mother.

Even though her face showed her displeasure, she maintained a respectful tone. Ike and Fjorm glanced at each other for a moment, before turning back to their daughter.

"Listen, Fríge, we need to talk. Your mother and I are worried about you." Ike said.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine." Fríge said.

"I'm your guardian. It's my duty to worry about you." Ike said.

Fríge's expression gained a bit of anger, but otherwise, her face remained blank.

"Yeah, well, you're not my father. I don't have a father." Fríge said lowly.

Ike hummed in understanding, now knowing what was the problem.

"I know you don't really like Male Robin after he hurt you and your mother. I don't like him either. But I don't think you really feel that way about him. Despite all he's done to you, you loved your father." Ike said calmly.

Fríge looked away. Ike and Fjorm followed the girl's gaze and saw her watching a father and daughter at an ice cream stand. The camp was pitched right outside Sparta. They hadn't moved on from the port city after recruiting Ike, Amaya, Lemy, Bobby, and Matt earlier that day, but had instead decided to wait until early morning to move out and cross the Soviet border. The ice cream stand was situated on the outskirts of the city, so the entire camp could see it due to the close distance, though they were still separated from the city by a field. The father handed his daughter a cone, and the girl grabbed her father's hand and licked happily at the dripping treat.

"He's a failure, that's all. He's a monster." Fríge mumbled.

"He's still your father. And despite all he's done to you, deep down, he loves you." Ike said.

Fríge closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her chest.

"It didn't do either of us any good, did it? Mother died in my world and I'm disgraced." Fríge said.

She shook lightly as she stared down at the ground. Fjorm placed a hand on Ike's shoulder and shook her head, silently telling him to stop bringing it up. From the look on her face, she was terrified. Ike cursed mentally. He had gotten so caught up in trying to help his step-daughter that he had painted Male Robin as a hero, instead of the pedophilic home wrecker monster that he really was. Suddenly, Ike couldn't see just the sullen teen across the table, but rather a hurting and terrified little girl. He knew that whatever Fríge was feeling, she must have felt incredibly lost and scared now.

"You poor kid." Ike muttered.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he wished he could retract them. It was probably the exactly wrong way to deal with the young girl. The look on Fríge's face changed. She looked surprised for just a second, but then an emotionless mask covered her eyes.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud. Let's forget about your father for a moment and talk about you." Ike said.

Fríge looked down again.

"I told you, I'm fine. There's nothing we need to talk about." Fríge said.

Irritation was finally seeping into her voice.

"Okay, so you're fine. Then tell me, why is your fist clenched so hard that your knuckles are white?" Ike asked.

Fríge unclenched her hand and put it under the table.

"I'm stressed. That's natural right now. It doesn't mean anything." Fríge replied.

Ike saw he wasn't getting though to her. Perhaps, another time, she'd want to open up.

"Fríge... I know you're not my daughter, but I care about you. When you're ready, I'm here to listen, okay?" Ike asked.

Fríge nodded.

"I understand. I really can't stay, though. I have to prepare for the mission in the morning." Fríge said.

Fjorm reached a hand out.

"Fríge, honey, please wait..." Fjorm started to say softly.

Fríge brushed her hand away and left before their food was even served. Fjorm seemed to deflate in defeat and sighed as she watched her daughter leave. Ike wrapped a hand around her torso and brought her close to him in a hug, being careful to be gentle with her pregnant body. Fjorm sighed again and rested her head against his chest.

"Am I raising her wrong? Did I fail her?" Fjorm asked.

Ike shook his head and kissed the back of her head.

"No you didn't, Fjorm. Just give her time. She'll warm up to both of us. She's just scared, is all." Ike replied lowly.


End file.
